The impact of COVID-19 on healthcare services has been profound. One major impact has been underutilization of traditional healthcare services by patients. In 2020, the Saudi Ministry of Health (MoH) started offering general COVID-19 enquiries, education, and medical and psychological consultations around the clock via their 937-Call Center. Given this major change, there was a need to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Call Center services, specifically medical consultations, to suggest future recommendations for patient care optimization. This descriptive study analyzed routinely collected data on the 937-Call Center service between March 2020 and September 2020. Data were reviewed, coded, verified, and analyzed using SPSS v22. There was a 296% increase in the number of calls received by the 937-Call Center in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The majority of calls received in 2020 were general medical enquiries (98.41%), but about three million COVID-19-specific enquiries were also received in 2020. The increased number of calls was managed by accepting volunteers to handle calls: an average of 236 volunteers per month, handling about 20% of the total call volume. The majority of volunteers were physicians but with the presence of pharmacists, psychologists, and specialized healthcare workers such as nutritionists. Utilization of the 937-Call Center increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that it has been an effective strategy for combatting the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Further research is recommended to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on public awareness of the 937-Call Center and other health-related mobile apps.
Background Premarital screening and genetic counseling (PMSGC) is compulsory in Saudi Arabia and aims to identify and decrease the prevalence of some genetic and sexually transmitted infectious diseases. However, there are little data on community awareness about PMSGC. This study assessed knowledge levels, attitudes, and behaviors associated with PMSGC in the general Saudi Arabian population and their associations with sociodemographic characteristics. Methods This was a cross-sectional, population-based study of 6263 participants randomly selected from all 20 health regions in Saudi Arabia, stratified according to age and fulfilling predefined selection criteria. Trained data collectors used a comprehensive pretested questionnaire to collect data. Data were collected in March and April 2019. Univariable and multivariable associations between sociodemographic characteristics and knowledge levels, attitudes, and behaviors were examined. Results While all 6263 study participants had heard about PMSGC, only 575 (9.2%) participants had satisfactory knowledge, while 3283 (52.4%) participants had fair knowledge. Predictors of high knowledge scores were university or higher education level (aOR=2.06; 95% CI: 1.80–2.36), positive medical history of PMSGC-screened disease (aOR=2.02; 95% CI: 1.51–2.69), family income ≥3000 SR/month (aOR=1.70; 95% CI: 1.50–1.93), being married/previously married (aOR=1.46; 95% CI: 1.25–1.70), female gender (aOR=1.25; 95% CI: 1.12–1.40), and age >18 years (aOR=1.25; 95% CI: 1.06–1.48). The majority of participants (5246, 83.8%) had positive attitudes towards the importance of PMSGC, the burden of screened genetic and infectious diseases on the family, and that marrying was inadvisable with incompatible results. Of the 3986 engaged or married participants, 2911 (73.0%) had undertaken premarital screening, of whom 360 (12.4%) had incompatible results; 98 (37.1%) married despite this information. Conclusion Despite advances in public healthcare measures in Saudi Arabia, gaps remain in the knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors associated with PMSGC. Culturally specific community health education programs for PMSGC must be devised that emphasize the risks associated with consanguineous marriage.
<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> COVID-19-recovered cases’ compliance with precautionary measures employed by the health authorities is critical for prevention of virus spread and to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess the following amid COVID-19-recovered cases: (1) precautions’ compliance during and after the infection, (2) sources of information regarding precautions, and (3) Saudi MoH communication protocol with the infected cases. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A descriptive phone-based cross-sectional survey was conducted on a national sample of COVID-19-recovered cases. Study participants were selected randomly from the National Saudi Health Electronic Surveillance Network (HESN) database. The study questionnaire included (1) sociodemographic, (2) questions that assessed compliance and source of knowledge about COVID-19 precautionary measures, (3) questions about the MoH communication protocol. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Of the 484 participants, there were 363 (75%) males and 89.7% were Saudis. Most respondents (85.3%) went for COVID-19 testing because they had symptoms either with or without confirmed case contact. About 70% of respondents adhered to quarantine from being tested positive for COVID-19. Cases commitment to precautionary measures did not change after recovery among 44.8%, while nearly 40% their commitment was increased compared to time before infection. The MoH communication protocol was conducted with satisfactory levels in relation to time of first contact, frequency, asking about list of contacts, and advising to download <i>Tetamman application</i> and its regular update. Females had lower levels of commitment to the precautionary measures after recovery and lower use of the MoH 937 call centre services during infection compared to males with <i>p</i> values of 0.036–0.014, respectively. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> A high level of compliance with COVID-19 precautionary measures was exhibited by COVID-19-recovered cases during and after recovery with moderate use of the MoH 937 call centre services and low-level awareness about MoH online guide.
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